jmoon@lehi3b15.csee.lehigh.edu (Jonggu Moon [890911]) (10/01/90)
If we are supposed to love our neighbor, how come we're born with the killer instinct ? ^>*<^jon
mangoe@mimsy.umd.edu (Charley Wingate) (10/03/90)
Jonggu Moon writes: >If we are supposed to love our neighbor, how come we're born with the killer >instinct ? I could haggle over the fine print (I don't believe in the "killer instinct"), but instead I'll stick to pointing out the obvious: If we didn't feel impelled to sin (e.g., murder), we wouldn't need to be told not to. -- C. Wingate + "Our God to whom we turn when weary with illusion, + Whose stars serenely burn above this world's confusion, mangoe@cs.umd.edu + Thine is the mighty plan, the steadfast order sure mimsy!mangoe + In which the world began, endures, and shall endure."
hall@vice.ico.tek.com (Hal Lillywhite) (10/03/90)
In article <Sep.30.21.15.29.1990.16674@athos.rutgers.edu> jmoon@lehi3b15.csee.lehigh.edu (Jonggu Moon [890911]) writes: >If we are supposed to love our neighbor, >how come we're born with the killer instinct ? Well, I don't agree that we are born with a "killer instinct." The natural man may not be very nice to his fellows but killing another human is something most of us do with great reluctance if at all, just talk to anybody who has been in the army. Of course this is still a good question, "How come we're born with the instinct to take advantage of others (steal, hurt, etc.)? Actually I think this is rather at the heart of Christianity. The whole point is that through Christ we can become something quite different from what we are at birth, putting on the new man and learning charity. "Be not deceived: neither fornicators nor idolaters nor...shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such *were* some of you but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor 6:9-11, emphasis mine)
lionti@ecs.umass.edu (10/03/90)
jmoon@lehi3b15.csee.lehigh.edu (Jonggu Moon [890911]) writes: > If we are supposed to love our neighbor, > how come we're born with the killer instinct ? In Saturday Night Live "Church Lady" voice: "Could it be...SATAN?" (I'd like to put a smiley here, but unfortunately, it's just not funny) For Biblical references, see Gen., etc. etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Eric C. McClure lionti@umaecs.bitnet Standard Disclaimer
vm0t+@andrew.cmu.edu (Vincent Paul Mulhern) (10/03/90)
Jon, The Bible says that you have to be born again. (It doesn't say you have to become a chandalier-swinging nut with no brain, but it does say you have to be born again). One of the effects of this is that the source of your motives changes. I'm not driven by the old sin/death nature of my old self...now I'm motivated by the love/life nature of my re-created spirit. Romans makes a lot of distinctions between a born again and a not-born again person. -Vince
mgobbi@cs.ubc.ca (Mike Gobbi) (10/04/90)
jon writes: >If we are supposed to love our neighbor, >how come we're born with the killer instinct? My first question when I saw this was "What is the killer instinct?" Taking a straigtforward interpretation, this would imply that when a human meets another human he instinctively desires to kill them. I cannot speak for society in general, I can fairly certainly state that this is not MY reaction. Taking the socially accepted (?) view of killer instinct as being the competitive drive, I see no conflict with this feeling and love. My fiercest contests (over schoolwork, athletics, or whatever) are with my best friends. If I DON'T love someone, I have no desire to compete with them at all. If you cannot respect (which I consider an integral part of love) a person, why should you care whether they are "better" than you at something? In fact, I don't think any scientist or sociologist has ever seriously suggested that humans have any such "killer instinct". The phrase is a description of our society and has no technical meaning. And I think there are few who would pretend that our society is an accurate repres- entation of God's will. ******** Examining the question from a syntactical view, a key point in the question is the phrase "supposed to". Just because something is God's will does not mean that it is guaranteed, or even easy. That's what free will is all about. -- __ /..\ In quest of knowledge.... --mm--mm-- Mike Gobbi
jrossi@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Joe Rossi) (10/07/90)
In article <Oct.3.03.35.45.1990.13465@athos.rutgers.edu> lionti@ecs.umass.edu writes: > jmoon@lehi3b15.csee.lehigh.edu (Jonggu Moon [890911]) writes: >> If we are supposed to love our neighbor, >> how come we're born with the killer instinct ? > >In Saturday Night Live "Church Lady" voice: > >"Could it be...SATAN?" if you want to equate SATAN with the LifeForce, yes, than maybe. I've been dwelling on this for some time. We are both physical beings and spiritual beings. It is our spiritual being that can love our neighboor, but it is our physical being, as governed by Natural Laws, that dictates what do as an animal. And in this I find a room for compassion. Our actions are governed by our nervous systems and its programming. One of those programs is the survival imperative. When put in a life threatening situation, we are thrown into a fight or flight situation. Adrenalin is released into the brain. Its the way the LifeForce in us demands that we do what we need to survive and its the same thing that causes my cats to hiss at other cats, or to fight, or even kill. On one level as animals we are slaves to these laws, as we compete with other life forms including our own in competition for territory, "turf," food, resources etc. in a limited and hostile natural world. But as spiritual beings, we learn that we must rise above our natural instincts. It has to do with our awareness of the eternalness of life and God. Rising above the animal and embracing the divine is not an easy thing to do which is why I have compassion for those still trapped by the animal. Its also why I'm a pacifist. -- [new sig.file coming to this space very soon]